"Have you seen the previous batches of refugees foresighted enough to get out any goods of value before starting off? And as for labor, all our workers are now so heavily subsidized by the dole that to cut wages another cent—"
"Ha'penny," corrected General Thario.
"Centime if you like. —would be merely to increase our taxes."
"Well, well," he said. "I see I have been hasty. What did you have in mind, Albert?"
"Retrenchment. Cut production; abandon the factories in the immediate path of the Grass. Fix on reasonably safe spots to store depots of the finished concentrates, others for raw materials. Or perhaps they might be combined."
"What about the factories?"
"Smaller," I said. "Practically portable."
"Hum." He frowned. "You do intend to do business on a small scale."
"Minute," I confirmed.
"What about the mines? The steelmills, the oilfields, the airplane and automobile factories? The shipyards?"